A Challenge...Part 04

The sweet sounds of the birds trilling woke Master Gary from his sleep.
He blinked his eyes and returned to his thoughts so deep.
He was befuddled by his emotions coming to the foreground and surface,
He had hoped a soporific restful night in the forest would lead him in his purpose.

He glanced at Eric singing softly to the elfin, impish Ben,
Who had joined them at one point as he meandered the glen.
He smiled at the whispering, soothing dulcet tones,
For Eric was special to him, so special he thought with a groan.

He stretched out his muscles from the bower of boughs,
And he nudged King Craig awake with a buss to his forehead and jowls,
The King of All Woodland Creatures rose with a smile on his lips,
He threw his hands out and then placed them on his hips.

“My darling boy, I hope that you are rested.
Today’s the day to be sure you are neither lenient nor bested.
We will break our fast and sip from the stream nearby,
And then we will venture to the castle to plead your case and apply

To him for redress and a solution to this conundrum we seek,
But in order to do this, it is to King Doug that we must speak.
He will be fair-minded and offer his share of congenial support,
We have ruled peaceably together for a long time in concerted effort.”

“My Liege, it is an honorable thing you do this day,
I don’t know how to repay you, except to just say
That I am undone by your kindnesses, your willingness to assist,
You humble servant, I will be yours, I will no longer resist.

If you effect my release from King Doug’s proclamation,
It will be a cause for rejoicing and jubilant celebration.
Not that I don’t adore the Princess Ri, I really truly do with exquisite precision,
It’s just that if I offer for her, I want it to be our decision.

Not some forced joining, not some kingly command,
But because of free will and of that I demand
To be heard out fully, to be heard out in full verse,
That’s all that I ask, could I do any worse?”

“It shall be so then my sweet Master Gary.
We will adjust and smooth over this miscarry
Of befuddled justice. Arrange your clothing, address your hair,
We are off to the King, and you need to show fealty with meticulous care.”

With that, King Craig waltzed over to the mischievous Eric and Ben,
To hurry them along in their ablutions so that they could all wend
Their way to the castle beyond the forest with intention in their stride,
And to plan their verbal sayings to appease King Doug in his declared abide.

Now, wouldn’t you know it, that the Messieurs Ben and Eric were skipping to a tattooed beat,
Happy to tag along, as they wished to witness the event of the fabled Kings’ meet.
They gamboled like puppies, they scrambled like geese,
Even when the Master glared, they refused to desist and cease!

Not that they didn’t care for Master Gary, no, not at all,
But their woodland friends had whispered of his monumental fall at the Ball.
They were supportive to be sure, willing to assist to a fault no less,
But how the heck was he gonna get his neck out of this mess?

They revered the rapacious and rambunctious Princess Ri as well to be sure,
And to know of her failings at decorum, well when she was always cocksure
Was something they wished to see for themselves,
And nothing amused the two more than to be scheming elves.

They had hatched their own plan, had created their own plot,
They had sent a message to Billy earlier to up the ante in the pot.
Gleefully and with an eye to entertaining everyone at the castle,
They wanted the Princess sequestered without a long drawn out hassle.

Billy with his quick and clever mind would grab the King’s ear well,
For as much as it was a secret meeting, only time would tell.
What fairy magic they wrought between the three, who were friends,
As the tale thickened in their minds to scrutinize and portend.

Like the witches from Macbeth or Rosencrantz and Guilderstern,
They wanted their two cents, their input, and their turn.
So they trailed Master Gary and the good King Craig,
In hopes that the events would be repeated into myth and see faces with egg.

All in good sport, all with much communal love,
As they wished it to end well, and so they called up above,
To gain blessings for their little sylvan expedition,
And to avoid charges for themselves of rack, ruin and sedition.

Now mind you gentle readers, that they were not being malicious,
They just didn’t want it swept under the rug; the circumstances were too delicious,
So with thoughts scattered here and there with an eye to the future,
They entered the Hall en masse, to find a niche or convenient aperture.